One goal of the main embodiment of the present invention is to obtain the benefit of the nut skins in the ultimate product, namely contribution to product color and taste (flavor) and better adherence of confectionery coating. Application of confectionery coating to certain types of unblanched, raw nuts in any device which imparts mixing action, especially in a pan coater or the like, normally removes a significant amount of nut skins so that they cannot provide the desired advantages.
An important goal of the present invention is to obtain a proper texture in the ultimate product, i.e., a crunchy coating of desired thickness and uniformity while minimizing the formation of small hard candy pieces. In one process of which the inventors are aware, a small copper or stainless steel fixed kettle is used with a gas burner below, and the nuts are stirred within the kettle by a plow (generally brass) attached to a vertical rotating shaft, and syrup is added in successive additions while heat is applied to build up successive layers on the surface of the nut. There are several deficiencies to this fixed kettle approach. Firstly, batch sizes are required to be small and therefore processing is expensive (labor intensive). Secondly, the process is very sensitive to heat control since the plow can only provide a small amount of agitation and sheering action. Thirdly, there is a significant tendency to generate small, hard candy pieces. Fourthly, a high percentage of product contains bald spots, i.e., areas which are uncoated.